The Lorenzi Line

Entries with the tag: mason

Good golly Miss Molly! Like a roller coaster this season has been climbing to the top of the hill. The Blue Jacket’s cart has now been speeding down that hill and making all its riders high on adrenaline. With the acquisition of Letestu and Nikitin our luck has changed. Due to Scott Howson’s brilliance these two players meshed so well with our Jackets that they turned their combined 0-1-1 season into a combined 4-7-12 after joining Columbus. Already Nikitin has topped Umberger in points with 8; R.J. is one of our players that desperately needs to turn it on.

Our very own Rick Nash is showing up to play with 4-2-6 in the last seven games. The efforts made by him when he is being shell shocked by three players as he walks into the slot still aren’t as keen as they used to be. Needless to say I would appreciate it if you stop going for the highlight reel Rick; we don’t need a Lebron complex plaguing our fragile bunch of soldiers. But hey, that deflection last night was absolutely sick! Just keep doing what you’re doing around the net; you’re really starting to spark hope in your city. You’re leading the club in goals but you’re also winning the worst plus/minus with -12. We’re lucky enough that your line mates, Carter and Prospal, are showing up and making plays on net; Carter with 3-2-5 and Prospal with 1-5-6 in the last seven games.

The Blue Jackets took to the ice as if they were the team we expected after the off season trades. Columbus put up 18 shots and 2 goals in the first period, something that had me on the edge of my seat. An early Blue Jacket lead can be trepidatious, I’d rather be down a goal going into the second period… What you would expect to happen did; the Blue Jackets folded after the first period when two quick goals were potted on Mason in the second, twenty seconds from each other.

Columbus previously thrashed the Jets last Saturday with a score of 2-1 and I’ve been on a joyous bender since then. The composure of the Jets was reminiscent of the game against Anaheim. Like the Ducks they were making lazy passes which made Columbus look like an elite team with how easily they were thwarted by the Jackets.

After 15 games and a 2-12-1 record can Columbus crawl and then run? People are busy slamming the book on Columbus but I say don’t hold your breath. With the sketchy teams they are behind there lies hope.

Boll, 25, suffered a broken thumb during a preseason game at Carolina on September 30 and missed the season’s first 14 games. Last season with the Blue Jackets, he recorded seven goals and five assists for 12 points and 182 penalty minutes in 73 games. He set a career high in goals and ranked seventh in the NHL in penalty minutes.

Columbus’ fourth pick, 101st overall, in the 2005 Entry Draft, Boll has registered 20-23-43 and 737 penalty minutes in 291 career NHL games. He set career highs in assists and points in 2008-09 with 4-10-14 and 180 penalty minutes in 75 games. During his rookie season in 2007-08, he tallied 5-5-10 and 226 penalty minutes to rank second in the NHL in penalty minutes.

Alas presence in front of Columbus’ net exists! Steve Mason, in his purple pads that were later auctioned off to benefit breast cancer research, stopped 30 shots and caused the fans in Columbus to lose their minds. The monkey is off their backs and pants got tighter last night after dominating the Red Wings on all ends of the ice. The keys to this success was killing the movement of Detroit, Mason denying great scoring chances and Jackets following through with checks that were never attempted in the previous 8 games; most of all was collecting loose pucks.

Who would have thought that the Zero would have plagued the Blue Jackets this long?

Last night the Columbus veterans dished goals to the prospects. First for Columbus was Cam Atkinson who buried the biscuit with a tight backhand to the five hole after excellent passing from Rick Nash and David Savard. From there Maksim Mayorov and David Savard both notched a goal and an assist. In any case the Capitals knotted the score at 3 and brought it to overtime. 2:36 into the OT Alexandre Giroux slapped in a power play goal for the win and the small crowd went bazonkers.